Haunted (My Rewrite of Breaking Free)
by Still Painting Flowers For You
Summary: Can three young teens survive the worst? Between deaths, family problems, and forbidden dreams, Percy, Nico and Thalia are also living the life of luxury, fame, and fortune. But things aren't as good as they seem, especially when their father's influence seems to get in the way of their not so perfect lives. Rewrite of the old one! Much more detailed!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! This is a rewrite of my old story, Breaking Free. I felt like I could do better than that story, so I made a rewrite and re-titled it Haunted. **

**This story will have the same pairings as the last (Percy & Annabeth, Thalia & Leo, Nico & Ariella).**

**And you do not have to read the last story to understand this one for 3 reasons...**

**1. They are separate. THIS IS NOT A SEQUEL. It's a chance at something better.**

**2. Breaking Free was discontinued.**

**3. They start at two completely different times in their lives.**

**I hope you guys enjoy my second chance at my story! :D**

* * *

Chapter 1:

Nico:

The faint noise of the rain beating quietly on the window is the only thing keeping me from freaking out. Its sound has a rhythm, almost like a heartbeat, but only if nature was that precise. And normally, I would be listening to the thumping of my heart instead, but I'm afraid it's stopped beating ever since last night.

I feel like a mixture between a zombie and a ghost; I feel dead but my life on earth isn't completed yet. Like I still have a duty to carry out. And my duty is eternal suffering.

"Mr. di Angelo, do you have an answer?" an unfamiliar voice wakes me from my constant daydream and brings me back to the cruel and vicious reality. I take in my surroundings and remember where I am as bright lights flash and slightly blind my vision. Interviews _suck_.

"An answer to what?" I ask, no emotion in my voice, no passion. Just plain words.

A muttering goes on between the crowd of interviewers but I'm too focused on the rain to make out what they're saying. And frankly, I don't care enough. I'm not nosy, unlike the paparazzi that will search and harass until they find what they're looking for. But I've made a vow of silence, and I better not break it.

"What do you have to say about the incident that happened in your New York apartment just last night?" she repeats.

"Nothing," I tell her. "I have nothing to say… _to you._"

"And why is that?" she interrogates.

"Because you're just going to sell it to any newspaper or magazines that are just going to twist my words even more than you will," I dare. "It's my right to remain silent."

"Talking about it will make it better," she informs me.

"I'll talk to myself about it," I cross my arms. "I'm not six. I can deal with my problems on my own. They're called _personal_ for a reason."

"Nico, stop sassing and cooperate," my dad mutters angrily in my ear. "We'll get a bad rep. It will look like we're murderers."

"Technically, we are." I admit, though it hurts, like I'm getting repeatedly stabbed in my heart with the sharpest knife ever.

"I did nothing."

"Right," I sigh. "It's all my fault, just like all the other problems _you've_ caused."

"Care to speak up?" the interviewer asks. "The press would love to hear what you're saying."

"I care nothing for the press; therefore they shouldn't hear my personal conversations. Especially since I wasn't talking to them and because I don't even want to be here." I say through my teeth. "Now if you excuse me, I'm going to wait in the bus. Father, are you coming?"

"I'll be there in a second," he tells me.

I stand up and walk to the doorway, feeling the eyes of people and the flashes of cameras going off behind me. I turn to my father. "Don't say anything you'll regret," I snap before exiting. The door leads me right outside and the rain beats against my pale skin. I look at the sky, which reflects my current feelings; dark, moody, angry, and most of all, sad.

Reluctantly, I walk back to the tour bus. The image of me and my two band mates and cousins doesn't seem so welcoming anymore. In fact, it kind of haunts me. Opening the door from the outside, I take a slow step inside.

"Nico, are you okay?" my cousin Thalia demands as she runs over to me from the couch.

"Yeah, dude you were in there for hours!" My cousin Percy adds as he also approaches me. "What happened?"

I walk past them and climb into my bunk. I can't talk about this now. I can't _think _about this now. I can't do anything because everything and anything reminds me of _her_.

Before I can stop myself, I get consumed into a memory, but no matter how much I struggle, nothing can save me.

_ "Bianca! How many times to I have to tell you? Leave me alone!"_

_ "Nico! Don't let yourself get in over your head! You know you can't do it! It's just too much for you. School, family, you're job at the diner… You can't manage it all."_

_ "Yes I can," I hissed as I crumpled yet another sheet of paper up. "I just need time."_

_ "You've had time," Bianca put her hand on my shoulder. "You've had fourteen years. Didn't you know this was going to happen?"_

_ "How did you expect me to know that after seven years without a dad, he'd randomly show up and offer me a record deal? Bianca, honestly, do you think before you speak?"_

_ "But Nico… I know how badly you want this, but it isn't a good idea…"_

_ "You're just jealous dad picked me over you, aren't you?" I turned to look at her, my dark eyes pierced through her delicate soul like a dagger would._

_ "No," she shakes her head. "I'm just looking out for you."_

_ "I don't need your protection!" I shouted. "I'm fourteen freaking years old!"_

_ "Nico, you don't understand." Bianca shouted. "He's using you! He's only making you famous so he gets a good reputation. That's the whole reason why he left us in the first place! Because having two children would ruin his reputation!"_

_ "But maybe him coming back for me could be a good thing. Have you ever thought of that, Bianca? Or are you too busy thinking of yourself? You're only taking this out on me because he asked me. Not you!" I screamed back. "Now just leave me alone so I can finish this!"_

_ "Nico, you're making a mistake…"_

_ "In your opinion!" I answered. "Bianca, this could change our lives. No more struggling to survive, no more barely making enough money to pay the rent on this dump, no more sad endings. This is the start of a new world for us."_

_ "For _you, _Nico. Not for us." Bianca snapped back at me. "Maybe you're the one that's being selfish. Have you ever thought what will happen to _me_ once you become famous? Nothing. I'll be stuck here while you, Percy, and Thalia go on tour. I'll still be struggling to survive while you go out and have the time of your life!"_

_ "You'll come with us," I promised her._

_ "And mope around about the life I wish I was having? No thanks, Nico. I'd rather suffer here." Bianca crossed her arms._

_ "Why can't you be happy for me?" I demanded. _

_ "Because he's only using you, Nico! How many times do I have to tell you that?"_

_ "You're just saying that because you're jealous! You clearly think you're a better singer than me! That's why you're getting so mad!" I concluded. "I'll never be good enough for you, will I?"_

_ "You're changing the subject!" Bianca replied. "This isn't about me being jealous… There's a bigger issue that you're too blind to realize."_

_ "Bianca," I took a sharp intake of breath. "I'm on the edge of having a mental breakdown and screaming at you. Go. Leave me alone."_

_ "Ugh! You'll realize I'm right, just give me time…"_

_ "Bianca…" I started to say._

_ "And you'll come crawling back to me…"_

_ "Stop…" I said as I felt my anger building up. It wouldn't be long before it exploded like a volcano._

_ "Then I'll say I told you so…"_

_ "BIANCA! I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE. DO YOU NOT REALIZE HOW MUCH STRESS I'M UNDER? I HAVE TO WRITE A WHOLE ALBUM BY TOMORROW AND MEMORIZE IT BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN THE FIRST CONCERT IS. THAT'S HOW WE'RE GOING TO MAKE OUR BIG BREAK. PEOPLE KNOW WHO WE ARE, THANKS TO OUR DAD, BUT THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT WE SOUND LIKE. AND TO TOP IT OFF, I HAVE TO PLEASE OUR FATHER WHO CHOSE TO IGNORE US FOR SEVEN YEARS SO HE DOESN'T RUN OFF AGAIN!" I yelled. "I don't have time for your complaining! Leave. Me. Alone!"_

_ "Fine," she huffed as she stormed over to the door. "But I am right. You'll see it one day."_

_ "Bianca, you're bothering me so much right now, I don't care if I ever see you that one day. I don't care if I ever see you again! Because if I don't, I won't have to deal with this whole drama that you've created!"_

The sound of the rain, more heavy now, thankfully awakens me from that horrible nightmare. Although the vision is gone, I could never forget the look on her face. The horrified expression that exemplified what a monster I was. Well, am. The instant pain I felt after that moment is intolerable, and even just thinking about it makes it hurt more and more each second.

"Nico?" the soft voice of my cousin Percy calls out.

"What?" I say as I push the curtain that gives my bunk its privacy all the way to the side.

"We have a concert in the mall starting pretty soon so you probably should get ready," he reminds me.

"I'm not going."

"Nico, you've got to." Percy sighs as he sits down next to me. "I know you think Bianca's death was your fault…"

"It _was _my fault though!" I correct him.

"No, it wasn't. It was whoever's fault that was driving that car," Percy tries to assure me. Too bad it doesn't work.

"Percy, if I didn't get her mad, she wouldn't have left our apartment. And if she didn't leave the apartment, she would've never gotten hit by that car." I explain. "See Percy, it all leads back to me."

"Technically, it's your dad's fault Bianca got mad, so it's his fault."

"No," I shake my head. "And even if that was the case, it would be my mother's fault for seducing my dad into having both Bianca and I."

"Which leads that back to your grandparents ever having your mom." Percy replies. "But don't you see how ridiculous this is? You can't go on life blaming yourself or other people for things you can't take back. I know it only happened last night, but you've got to do what you can to not let it affect you're daily life. You can still think about it, but don't let it control you're actions. You'll be like a zombie if you do that."

"I already am a zombie," I mutter. "My body technically is still alive, but my heart and soul aren't. I'm just stuck here to forever haunt myself."

"What?" Percy asks me; clearly he didn't hear a word I said. But it's better that way, I guess.

"Nothing," I sigh, giving up.

"So please, try and act like you're okay during our first concert? First impressions are tough, and I don't want us to be frowned upon because of a bad week, alright?" Percy assures me.  
"Things get better. They always do, Nico. I promise." As much as I want to believe what he's saying, I know it's not true. And I know that through the proof of my horrible life. It just keeps getting worse just as it seems like it should get better.

* * *

**Summary: Nico gets interrogated by the press who all want to know what happened to his sister Bianca. However, Nico refuses to talk about it because he's not emotionally ready for it. Also, he believes it is his fault and doesn't want people to think poorly of him. Percy understands what Nico is going through, but finds it important for Nico to move on and not to dwell on the past. And, Percy informs Nico that their first concert, which is the first time they are ever preforming / singing is soon so they need to get ready.**

**Thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions? Predictions? TELL ME IN A REVIEW! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been super busy! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the song "A Trophy Father's Trophy Son". That belongs to the band Sleeping with Sirens. I also don't own the song "Lullabies" because the band All Time Low owns that. And "Wasting Away" is a Tonight Alive song. **

**So yeah, I don't own anything. **

* * *

Chapter 2:

Percy:

As we drive to the venue, I strum angrily on my guitar. I sink into the blue couch and try and think of any inspiration I can get for a song. All the songs I've written so far seem cheesy and bland. If I'm going to make it in the life of fame, I need a song that people will remember.

"Have you thought of anything yet?" Thalia asks me as she takes a seat next to me.

"Nope," I sigh. "You're lucky you don't sing."

"I wouldn't really consider it luck," she looks down. "It's more of force. Nico gets a visit from his dad, offering all three of us a record deal. Then he visits again because of Bianca's death and he went to that interview with Nico… All I got was a terribly worded email from my dad saying that if we're going to become famous, I'm not allowed to sing. He said two boy singers would be better for our 'image'. And that it's 'too hard' for me or something like that."

"What image?" I demand. "We're not even famous yet! The only reason why the press wanted to know about this is because of our free concert tonight! The concert in the mall is just a test to see if people will like our music!"

"He's psychotic, which is why he isn't letting me sing!" Thalia complains.

"You might not get to sing, but at least your dad tried to make contact with you." I snap as I strum my guitar harder and more aggressively.

"Still nothing?" she asks, concern coating her words.

"After seven years you'd think he'd say something," I mutter.

"Clearly he's an awful man," she crosses her arms. "No offense."

"I kind of miss him though," I admit. "We always had so much fun together when I was a kid."  
"Well, people change, I guess."

"Guess so," I sigh as I try and focus my attention back to a song.

"Hey, I've got an idea," Thalia grins.

"What?" I give her a weird look. "I learned never to trust your ideas. They always end badly." On numerous occasions, Thalia has come up with these weird plans. Most of them are to make money, but they're crazy weird sometimes. Like once she made me and Nico wonder around Central Park for hours, speaking in weird accents, in order to get money. People laughed and threw things at us. Like I said before, her plans _always _end badly. Oh, and we didn't even get any cash from it! All we got was dirty button. Who needs a dirty button?

"Well, what if this was kind of like a rebellion?" she smirks.

"What do you mean?" I raise an eyebrow at her, instantly interested.

"Well, what if I do sing at this concert?" Thalia explains. "What do you think our dad's would do?"

"Probably get really mad and disown us!" I suggest.

"Or maybe they'd just get really mad then realize how good of a singer I am and then let me sing!" she corrects me.

"I don't know…" I think about it. "It seems risky."

"Isn't that what teenage years are supposed to be?" she questions. "Risky? I'm sixteen, you're fifteen, and Nico is fourteen… We need a bit of risk in our lives."

"Thalia, honey, you're forgetting we've risked our whole lives. We've risked when we used to have to steal food, we risked when we had to live in subway stations. Thalia, right now we're risking the chance of fame or not. Even breathing is risking," I explain.

"But Percy, this could change _everything_! Don't you see that? If we accomplish this, we could be at the prime of our careers, even though we just started! We could be so rich that we could give some of our money to the poor, like we were. _Don't you see_?" Thalia convinces.

"Fine," I give in. "But if we're doing this, we're going to do it my way."

* * *

Stepping onto the mall stage, I smile. It feels like I'm meant to be here. Like it's my destiny or something. Or maybe fate. Because fate is set in stone and is definitely going to happen. However, after this performance, I'm not sure how set in stone my music career is going to be… Especially since my dad owns the record label I'm signed to.

"Hi everyone!" I say into the microphone to the crowd of about twenty people. Wow. I'm _so _popular. "I'm Percy Jackson, that's my cousin Nico di Angelo, and that's my other cousin Thalia! And we're in a band called The Sirens!"**(A/N: I purposely didn't put Thalia's last name because in the book she said she doesn't like to use it.)**

Some people cheer, others don't. Once again, _so _popular. "Before we begin," Thalia says. "We'd like to thank our dad's, who aren't here with us now, but it would mean so much to us and them if you guys recorded our performance and then posted it online. It would really help them out!"

One guy takes out his video camera, and I assume he begins to record. What else would he do with a video camera? "So," I move on. "We're going to start now!" Turning to Thalia and Nico, I inform them, "I'll sing first, then Nico, and then Thalia."

"Got it," Thalia grins.

I turn back to the audience. "Before I begin, I'd like to say what this song is about. Seven years ago, my father, along with Nico's and Thalia's, left us. With no clue where they were going or when they were coming back, we had to struggle to survive. Nico was seven, I was eight, and Thalia was nine. What were such young children to do? It's kind of crazy how things happen because somehow, we're here today, and we're signed to a record deal that our dad's own. As much as I hate my dad for leaving me, and not contacting me throughout these years unlike my uncles did to my cousins, I somehow miss him. I don't know whether it's a bond that we always had or maybe it's the fact that I might have done something to make him leave. Whether it is either, or neither, this song goes out to my dad. It's been seven years, dad, and I'm still trying to deal with the pain. I don't understand this. I don't understand you." I begin to play my guitar and Thalia strums her bass and Nico bangs on his drums.

"A Trophy Father's Trophy Son"

**(Originally by the band Sleeping with Sirens, but in this story, it's by Percy. All rights go to the original artists!)**

Father, father, tell me where have you been?

Its been hell not having you here

I've been missing you so bad

And you don't seem to care

When I go to sleep at night, you're not there

When I go to sleep at night, do you care?

Do you even miss us?

Your bottle's your mistress

I need to know, I need to know

Why are you walking away?

Was it something I did?

Did I make a mistake cause

I'm trying to deal with the pain

I don't understand this, is this how it is?

I will try to understand

Father, father, tell me where are you now?

Its been hell not having you

Last thing I heard, you were fed up, you're skipping town

With no note telling where

When I go to sleep at night, you're not there

When I go to sleep at night, do you care?

I need to know, I need to know

Why are you walking away?

Was it something I did?

Did I make a mistake cause

I'm trying to deal with the pain

I don't understand this, is this how it is?

Why are you running away?

I don't understand this, is this how it is?

Why are you running away?

Tell me please, tell me please, I need to know

Is this what you call a family?

Is this what you call a family?

Is this what you call a family?

Is this what you call a family?

Spent seven years wishing that you'd drop the line

But I carry the thought along with you in my mind

But is this what you call a family?

Is this what you call a family?

Family!

Why are you walking away?

Was it something I did?

Did I make a mistake cause

I'm trying to deal with the pain

I don't understand this, is this how it is?

Why are you running away?

I don't understand this, is this how it is?

Why are you running away?

Tell me please, tell me please, I need to know

Is this what you call a family?

Is this what you call a family?

Is this what you call a family?

Is this what you call a family?

A lot of people cheer and more people circle around us. I can't help but feel flattered that people like our music. Well, my music. I just hope Nico doesn't scare them off with creepy or depressed music… He refused to tell us what this song was about. He only gave Thalia and I the music for it. And quite frankly, I'm scared of what he'll say. His actions can make or break our future career.

"Hi," Nico says as he walks up to the microphone. "I'm Nico, as Percy previously stated. I'm going to sing you all a song now called Lullabies. This song is about someone who I really cared about passing on. It really upsets me that she's gone. Without her, I feel like I'm missing my other half. She was my older sister by one year, but probably the best friend anyone could ever ask for. I made a mistake, and that's why I lost her. We got into an argument just yesterday and she stormed out of our apartment building in Manhattan. The next thing I know, I got a call from the police saying she's dead. A car hit her and didn't even have the decency to stop. Bianca, this song goes out to you." Nico chokes on his words and I'm pretty sure he's tearing up, or maybe even crying. But I don't ask him about it. He'd be so embarrassed that he'd probably storm off the mini stage and sit on the tour bus for hours.

The song starts off as acoustic before changing into more of our style of many instruments.

"Lullabies"

**(Again, originally this song is by the band All Time Low. They own all the rights to it. But in this story, Nico wrote it.)**

Make it a sweet, sweet goodbye -

it could be for the last time and it's not right.

"Don't let yourself get in over your head," he said.

Alone and far from home we'll find you...

Dead - Like a candle you burned out;

spill the wax over the spaces left in place of angry words.

Scream - To be heard, like you needed any more attention;

throw the bottle, break the door, and disappear.

Sing me to sleep, I'll see you in my dreams,

waiting to say, "I miss you. I'm so sorry."

Forever's never seemed so long as when you're not around

it's like a piece of me is missing.

I could have learned so much from you but what's left now?

Don't you realize you shot this family a world of pain?

Can't you see there should have been a happy ending we let go?

Sing me to sleep, I'll see you in my dreams,

waiting to say, "I miss you. I'm so sorry."

Sing me to sleep.

Sing me to sleep.

Sing me to sleep.

Sing me to s...

Sing me to sleep (You've taken so much with you...)

I'll see you in my dreams, (But left the worst with me...),

waiting to say, "I miss you. I'm so sorry."

I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Honestly, I'm shocked that Nico could write something that deep. I know he always carries around a little leather bound journal where he writes really depressing things in, but I didn't expect it would come out like that. Wow, just wow.

"And for our final selection tonight," Thalia steps up to the microphone. "I'd like to sing. Its a little song called Wasting Away, and it's for my dad. However, my dad and I have different problems then Percy and my uncle. In fact, my dad is contacted me a few times, but is trying to refuse to let me sing. He claims it's too hard and that it will mess up our band's image. But at this point, I don't even care what he says anymore. This is my life, and I'm going to live it how I want." Thalia then begins to sing as we play our instruments.

"Wasting Away"

**(This song is origionally by the band Tonight Alive, but in this story, it's written by Thalia. ALL RIGHTS GO TO TONIGHT ALIVE AND THEIR AMAZINGNESS.)**

And so the sky becomes a dream,

I never dreamt because I'm just too busy

waiting for nothing and wasting away

Don't tell me it's too hard, you were never there from the start

I'm not about to give this up, giving up was never enough (no)

And so the sky becomes a dream,

I never dreamt because I'm just too busy

waiting for nothing and wasting away

And so the sky it watched my dreams,

fall to pieces right in front of me

Cause I'm just too busy waiting for nothing

and wasting away

and I never wished for anything more, than to find what I've been looking for

and I swore to myself I wouldn't lie to myself, how could I let this happen?

so I pull myself aside, take the time to tell myself it's alright,

Cause you weren't there to dry my eyes

And so the sky becomes a dream,

I never dreamt because I'm just too busy

waiting for nothing and wasting away

And so the sky it watched my dreams,

fall to pieces right in front of me

Cause I'm just too busy waiting for nothing

and wasting away

And so the sky becomes a dream,

I never dreamt because I'm just too busy

waiting for nothing and wasting away

And so the sky it watched my dreams,

fall to pieces right in front of me

Cause I'm just too busy waiting for nothing

and wasting away

By this point, we have a large amount of people surrounding us, which is good, I guess. But I guess we'll just have to wait to hear what our father's say about this. You know, if my dad finally decides to talk to me. I doubt it though. At this point, my hopes for him ever saying anything to me again are slim to none. And maybe it's better that way. I'd rather live my whole life knowing my dad hates me then him secretly thinking it. It's like the truth verses getting lied to your whole life. The truth might hurt, but at least it makes things clear.

* * *

**Thoughts? Suggestions? Opinions? Predictions? TELL ME IN A REVIEW! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi guys!**

**Here's the next chapter. It's a little bit shorter but hopefully still good.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter Three:

Thalia:

"Where is he?" Percy demands as we stand outside the restaurant. Percy, Nico, and I just came from Bianca's funeral, and now we're going out to dinner in her honor. But somehow, Nico vanished.

"I don't know," I shrug. "Just give him time for fresh air and time to think. You know it's hard for him, Percy. His sister died."

"But he makes it seem like no one else is affected," Percy complains. "He seems to think he's the only one who's upset. He knew her just as well as we did. And yet we're not acting depressive."

"Percy, you just don't understand," I reply.

"Understand what?"

"That Nico's _right _when he says he's the reason Bianca died! If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't have gotten hit by that car!" I exclaim. "If you were in this position, you'd feel the same."

"Yeah, but I'd control it better." Percy tells me. "He needs to let go of that thought. He needs to believe that if he denies it, it won't be true anymore. It's the only way he'll make it through."

"So you want him to live his life a lie?" I demand. "What you're saying… That's not how life works. He needs to learn that he can't be mean to people and then regret it later. Because in his case, he can't fix it. The past is the past, and he needs to grasp that."

"Percy, Thalia… What are you guys doing out here?" a girl's voice asks us. I turn around to see the familiar face of my best friend.

"Hi Annabeth," I smile but then it quickly fades. "We're trying to find Nico."

"What? Where is he? What happened to him? How long has he been gone?" she demands as she walks over to us.

"He said he'd meet us here. But he hasn't shown up yet. I texted him, but I'm afraid to call him," Percy tells her.

"Why?" she demands.

"Nico is a little temperamental on the phone. And it's probably better if he doesn't come. He's not doing so well now that she's gone." He explains.

"Can you blame him?" she puts her hand on her heart. "He just lost his sister!"

"I know!" Percy agrees. "I've been trying to tell Thalia that for the past twenty minutes!"

"Totally," I nod my head. I would correct him and tell him that I, in fact, was trying to tell _him_ that. But I don't… Because I'm not really like that. He clearly has a reason for lying, and I know it's because he's always had a crush on Annabeth, ever since the day he met her when they were twelve. He'd never admit it to me though. I don't even know if he admitted it to himself.

"Annabeth?" a softer voice calls out. We all turn around to see a small girl with wavy brown hair standing by the door.

"Hey Ariella," Annabeth answers. "Percy, Thalia, this is Ariella. She's a student I'm mentoring at Goode High School. Sorry she had to come with me… I'm required to bring her around with me all week." She tells us. "Wait, speaking of high school, are you guys coming back this year? You know, its starts up again soon."

"It depends on if this whole fame thing works out," I tell her.

"I don't really think it will," Percy admits. "We kind of upset our father's yesterday. Our Uncle Hades called Nico and told him we need to have a meeting about it tomorrow. He sounded pissed, so I'm sure he saw the video."

"Wait… That was you guys in that video Annabeth showed me?" the Ariella girl asks us.

"Yeah," I nod.

"You guys are _amazing_!" she tells us. "Oh my gosh. You guys are my new favorite band!"

"Thanks!" Percy smiles at her. "We've got one fan already!"

"You've got a lot more actually," she tells us. "You're the most popular video on the web! I've even started your fan club! Since you guys are The Sirens, the name of your fan club are the Alarmers!"

"You're starting to freak me out," I give her a weird look.

Whether she didn't hear me or chose to ignore me, I don't know. But she continued on her rant. "Where did you guys come up with the name The Sirens anyway? That sounds so random. It's kind of like police sirens…"

"That's sort of where we got it from. We were orphans, and had to steal some food and stuff sometimes. And we'd always hear the police sirens from our small New York City apartment." Percy explains. "And also, Annabeth and I used to read a lot about ancient Greek myths, and the one about The Sirens was my favorite. So yeah. That's how we got it."

"Wow." She sighs. "That's so interesting."

"Yup," he nods.

"Hey wait," Ariella says. "Wasn't there another one of you? A really cute boy with dark hair?"

"They're kind of trying to find him now," Annabeth tells her.

"Oh," she says before going quiet. I didn't think that was possible. But trust me, I'm thankful. I was starting to get sick of hearing her voice.

"I'm going to call him," Percy says as he pulls out a white IPhone. Our dad's sent us all cell phones pretty recently. Right after we signed the record deal, actually. I guess it's easier to communicate now. He finds Nico's contact and presses the 'call' button. "Nico, where the hell are you? Everyone's waiting for you to come and give your speech…" He stops talking and his face falls serious. Then he hangs up.

"What?" I demand, eager to hear where my idiot cousin is.

"Nico's in the hospital…"

* * *

**Oh no! What's wrong with Nico...? ONLY TIME WILL TELL. **

**Warning: Next chapter will be sad...**

**Thoughts? Predictions? Suggestions? Opinions? Tell me in a review!**

**Have a nice night!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys! Here's the next chapter!**

**It wasn't as sad as I expected...**

* * *

Chapter 4:

Percy:

The bright and sunny day reflects nothing like the mood of the car right now. Unstillness settles upon us as we try and mask up our fears of what could've happened with hope…. Hope that Nico is okay.

"So what happened on the phone again?" Thalia asks me for the hundredth time.

I'd usually be pretty pissed because I've told her so many times, but that seems to be a minor problem. We've got bigger things to worry about. "It wasn't Nico," I recite. "It was the hospital. They confiscated his phone."

"But what were the man's exact words?" she pleads.

" 'I'm sorry to say that your friend Nico is currently in the hospital for psychiatric reasons. If you would like to talk to him, please come to Lenox Hill Hospital during our visiting hours.'" I imitate in his deep voice.

"At least we know he's alive?" Thalia tries.

"He's definitely alive. Trust me. Nico's not like that. He probably fell and broke his arm," I reply.

"Then why wouldn't he call and tell you guys?" Annabeth speaks up. Wow. I forgot she was here.

"Maybe he was too in pain," I suggest.

"I doubt it," Thalia mumbles.

The taxi driver continued to drive as the four of us sat silently once again. As the sun begins to set, the taxi pulls over to the side of the road, where the hospital lays just a few feet in front of us.

"Thanks so much," Thalia says as she hands him the money. Quickly, we get out of the car and rush our way into the hospital.

"Act calm, guys," I say to them quietly. "I know what to do." Slowly, I walk up to the receptionist. "Hello Miss…" I read her name tag, "Ciara Anderson!"

"What do you want from me, kid?" she says very rudely.

"That's no way to talk to a paying customer." I sass.

"You're not a paying costumer." She crosses her arms at me. "If anything, you're just wasting space and breathing our air."

"Well, you can take your air back!" I defend. "Because it reeks of dead people and diseases."

"Percy," Annabeth glares at me before turning to the receptionist. "What my friend wants to know is if we can visit our brother, Nico di Angelo. He was admitted today to the psychiatric ward."

"Brother?" I say as Thalia nudges me in the gut. I hold my stomach in pain.

"It's the only way they'll get us in," she whispers to me.

"Well, I'm sorry to say that visiting hours are closed for the night," the lady's tone softens when talking to Annabeth. I don't get why she was so snippy with me. I was so nice to her! Okay, maybe not really but still.

"When are the next visiting hours open?" Annabeth asks her.

"Monday at eleven a.m." she answers.

"But today's only Friday!" that other girl who Annabeth brought with us frowns.

Thalia walks up to the desk. "But Ciara, you don't understand. This is urgent!"

"Listen girl, do you know how many times I get 'this is urgent' each day? I'm a _receptionist_. People complain to me all the time. It's not my job to let them in. If it's really that important to you, then go talk to those security guards over there. They'll escort you out, don't worry," she smiles mockingly at us.

I run over to the security guards and get on my knees. "Please let us in to see our cousin!" I beg. "PLEASE! He needs someone to talk to, to make sure he's okay! He's in the psychiatric ward. Please, Mr. Help us!"

"I'm sorry, but there's really nothing I can do," one of them, with the nametag reading 'BOB' says.

Thalia walks over and helps me off the group. "Sir, there must be _something_ you can do. Please, just let us see him."

"Hey wait a second," the other security guard, Max, halts. "My daughter _loves _you guys! She saw your video and fell in love with you, Percy!"

"Well," I smile. "Maybe we can arrange something if you let us see him," I say casually.

His face clearly shows he's debating what to do. "Uh…"

"Well, you know, we're really busy recently. All of our shows are sold out!" I lie. "We probably can't do this. We don't have time. Come on, guys. Let's just go home. We shouldn't have wasted our time here…" I start to turn around but Max grabs onto my shoulder.

"How about an autograph and a time when you guys can come over to my apartment and surprise her?" he offers.

"Sure," I smile. "Now, where's Nico di Angelo's room?"

* * *

"I tell you," I tell my followers. "The only way to get things done nowadays is to get people to feel bad. It's called guilting people into doing stuff for you."

Thalia rolls her eyes at me. "Percy, don't act as if you know everything."

"Come on, Thalia. Be nice to him!" Annabeth says.

"I'm fine," I assure her. "I can take it. While your insulting me, Thalia, do you have anything else to say?"

"Can you guys please just stop?" Annabeth asks us. "We're here." We stand outside the large wooden hospital door.

I grasp the handle and open the door slowly. The whole room comes into my view. It's pretty small, with two beds, one occupied, one empty, a small television, a closet, and a door, which I guess leads to a bathroom.

"Nico?" Thalia says as she walks over to the lump in the bed.

"Thank the gods you've come for me," Nico says as he sits up. "This is like a prison of some sort."

"Dude," I give him a weird look. "Why are you here?"

"It's a long story," he sighs.

"Just say it," I grind my teeth.

"Who's that?" Nico points to that other girl, Ariel, or something like that.

"That's Ariella," Annabeth says. "She kind of has to follow me around all week. I'm sorry I brought her… I just had to see if you were okay."

"It's fine, I guess." He replies.

"So, what happened?" Thalia demands.

"I don't want to say it," Nico mumbles.

"Nico," I order. "Tell me right now or I will kill you. Not really, but just say it."

"Just ask the doctor," he gets back under the covers of the bed.

"Where's the doctor?" Annabeth asks.

"Right here," a deep voice announces. We all turn around to see a tall man wearing a white lab coat. I don't really know what he's wearing a lab coat. He's a doctor, not a scientist, but I decide not to question him. He has a degree… I think.

"I'm Dr. Collins," he tells us.

"When did you get here?" I give him a weird look.

"A few moments ago. I came to check on your friend Nico and to give him his medication."

"Medication?" Thalia says nervously. "What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing," Dr. Collins assures us. "He just had a little incident."

"Care to go into more detail?" I question him. Can't he see we're in distress?

"Well, Nico has told the hospital therapist that recently, his sister passed away. Am I correct?" he asks us. I nod and he continues. "He also said he was out for a walk. Unintentionally, he came across the place where his sister was hit. And that kind of sparked a lot of emotions out of him. Hopelessness, loneliness, nervousness, and most of all, angriness."

"In the middle of the street," he goes on. "Nico started having a panic attack, where all of his emotions came out and he had nothing to do. He couldn't contain himself. He had so much he needed to get out but couldn't. Somewhere there called an ambulance because they thought he was going to do hurt somebody."

"I can control myself better than that," Nico corrects the doctor from his bed.

"And here we are now," the doctor finishes.

"What's the medication for if he's okay?" I cock my head at him.

"It's mostly just to calm him down."

"Mostly?" Thalia asks nervously.

"The therapist said that he thinks Nico might have Borderline Personality disorder as well," Dr. Collins admits.

"What even is that?" I ask.

"It's a mental illness. It's an emotional instability. However, it can be easily controlled just by taking this pill," he says as he holds up a pill.

"But why is he just getting diagnosed now?" Thalia questions him.

"Some things have to be triggered," Dr. Collins shrugs. "I guess his sister's death was the last straw for Nico."

"I guess so." I mumble.

"We're not too sure whether he has it or not. We were going to wait until tomorrow but since you guys are here, I assume you'll be taking him home. Am I correct?" he confirms.

"Yeah," I nod.

"Where's his parent's to sign his release forms?"

"Uh…" Thalia starts. "Well, we don't really have parents."  
"Then what about a legal guardian?"

"We don't really have that either." I tell him. "We have parents, unlike what my cousin said, they just don't really care…"

"Well the only way he can get out before next week is if he has a parent's signature."

"Alright." Thalia says as she walks over to the door. I follow her, along with Annabeth and that girl. "Don't worry, Nico. We'll be back, and we'll get you out of here."

We walk out of the psychiatric ward and out of the hospital in general. "What are we doing now?" I look at Thalia.

"We're going to call Uncle Hades." She sighs. I nod. Although I know he won't be happy, I'm glad Nico is okay.

* * *

**What did you guys think? Were you expecting that? **

**I haven't decided whether I'm going to give him Borderline Personality disorder or not, so tell me whether I should or shouldn't. For those of you who don't really know what it is, it's a emotional disorder in which causes an instability of moods. It can be easy controlled by medication and doesn't affect personality at all, except if it isn't controlled. It's often triggered after a tragic event if it leaves the person feeling alone. Usually, people with borderline are paranoid that they're going to be alone.**

**I think it kinda fits Nico in this story because he's so traumatized after Bianca's death, but give me your opinions! (His borderline won't really be mentioned much throughout it if you guys decide to make him have it).**

**Review?**


	5. Chapter 5

Hi guys! Sorry I didn't update in quite some time. I've had finals for the past two weeks and I've been studying so hard... Yet I think I still managed to fail all of them...

So sorry about that... Since my school ends in a few weeks, I'll be updating a lot more because I don't have as much homework. YAY!

OH, and if I don't get any reviews on a new chapter, it will take me longer to update. It makes me feel like no one even cares and that I can procrastinate. So yeah.

Here's your chapie!

* * *

Chapter 5:

Thalia:

Not one thing could have this car ride even more awkward than it already is. Silence? Check. Four people squished together in the backseat? Check. Uncomfortable strangers? Check. A father who is severely pissed at his son? Check. The only thing that could make this any worse is if we were all naked. Now **that **would be awkward.

"So… Uncle Hades, have you heard anything from my dad?" Percy asks hopefully.

"I'm taking you to see him now," he replies through his teeth. "We're going to have a family meeting."

"Uh… What about Annabeth and Ariella?" I ask him.

"We'll drop them off at a train station. I'm sure they can find their way home from there."

"I don't get why this family meeting is necessary," Nico speaks up.

"Well I don't see why you going to the hospital was necessary."

Nico exclaims, "You make it seem like I actually wanted to be there!"

"You should've controlled your emotions better," Uncle Hades responds. "You're going to have to deal with Bianca's death your whole entire life. Instead of moaning about it forever, get over it now."

"You make it seem like I'm not trying!" Nico fights back. "You don't even care that she died! You didn't even bother showing up to her funeral, or her wake, or that dinner party that you put together. Certainly, you don't care about her, and by punishing me you clearly don't like me either."

"Of course I like and care for my children," my uncles pursues. "Why would I have children if I didn't want them?"

"If you wanted us, then why would you **leave**?" Nico demands. "Dad, I was seven. How did you expect me to make it?"

"In the ancient city of Rome, parents would leave their children and see if they were strong enough to survive on their own."

"But this is 2013," Nico rolls his eyes. "Times change."

No one dares to say anything. I feel bad for Annabeth and Ariella, especially Ariella. Annabeth used to this. She's been our best friend for years. But Ariella? She's just here because of Annabeth. And she thought hanging out with her new favorite band would be fun… Not ending up caught in a fight between a failure of a father and a sassy son.

Pulling into the train station, I can't help but feel relieved. At least two people won't have to deal with this anymore. "Here's your stop." My uncle says.

"Bye," I wave.

"I'll text you," Percy promises, no doubt to Annabeth.

Nico doesn't say anything. Either he's too angry or he doesn't care. You can never tell with Nico.

"Thanks Mr. di Angelo," Annabeth says before exiting the car.

"Yeah, thanks!" Ariella adds before getting out after her.

The car ride continues in silence, and I can't help but fear to what this family meeting will bring. It could be good, for me, if my dad didn't see the video. Or it could end in a total mess… But maybe my dad would understand, right? Sometimes children need to rebel just the right amount to get their parents to notice them. But something tells me this isn't the case. We're talking about my dad, Zeus Grace, probably the scariest man out there. I'm definitely in huge trouble.

My IPhone screen lights up and I see I have a text from Percy. Looking over at him to roll my eyes, (seriously, I'm sitting right next to him… couldn't he have just said something?) I notice a nervous expression of his face. Reluctantly, I turn back and open the message.

**Percy: I'm quite freaked out for this so called meeting.**

**Me: I can tell.**

**Percy: My father is gonna be there. I haven't seen / spoken / heard from him in seven years.**

**Me: I know. Just try and calm down, alright? It's freaking me out.**

**Percy: How can I calm down in a time like this?**

**Me: Just think about other stuff, okay?**

**Percy: I'll try…**

I don't respond.

"Where are we even going?" Nico turns to his father.

"My house. You're uncles live there as well. That's where the meeting will be held," my uncle tells him.

"This meeting," Percy tries, "basically only has to do with Thalia and Nico, right? So I can just sit in the car the whole time, right?"

"It's a **family **meeting. Of course you have to be there."

"Can you define family for me?" Nico cocks his head at his father. "Because I'd consider a family people who are always there for you, despite relations. Somewhere with people where you're always welcome, where you're always appreciated, where you're never judged… Wow, that's funny… I don't think I have a family. And if I don't have a family, then why am I attending a **family** meeting?"

"I'm not laughing at the 'funny' you claim to have just said." His father fights back. "I don't find this funny at all. And a family are the people who you are related to."

"What about orphans, then?" I pipe up. "Orphans don't have real parents. They have adopted ones, but that still makes them family."

"That's different," Uncle Hades snaps. "And this conversation is between my son and I. So stay out of it."

"You're only saying that because you know she's right," Percy says. "You're just afraid of having three hormonal teenagers fighting against you because you know you're wrong. So just admit it, it's no secret to us."

"I'm not even going to bother responding to you three," Nico's dad rolls his eyes. "You guys are ridiculous."

Nico snorts. "You raised us."

"Actually, Nico," I jump in. "They didn't. They just left us."

"Right," he corrects himself. "Did you hear that dad? How do you expect your children to be raised right if you weren't even there?"

He doesn't respond. Nice to know he learned to keep his word… Unlike seven years ago when he promised he'd be back soon. Yeah, seven years is **so **soon.

My uncle pulls into a nice big driveway, with a huge house behind it. So **this **is what they're been keeping from us… It looks expensive. I'm **totally **coming back tonight to vandalize it. Heh!

We all get out of the car and follow my uncle to the door. Instead of getting out a key like a normal man would, he rings the doorbell. I tap my foot impatiently, just to get him mad.

"Have you ever heard of a key?" Nico snorts. "If you did, we wouldn't be waiting for an hour and a half for someone to answer the door."

"Stop exaggerating." His father scolds.

The door swings open to reveal a boy, around Nico's age of fourteen or Percy's age of fifteen. His bright blue eyes analyze us as if he's trying to memorize everything about our appearance.

"Jason?" I narrow my eyes at him to get a better look. "My father told me you lived with your mother." I look up at my uncle for some explanation. He gives none.

"Uncle Hades…" Jason says as he looks up at him as well. "Who are these strange children you're with?" he cocks his head. "And why does that one think I live with my mother? My mother died seven years ago."

"These are your challenged cousins, Jason. Do what you can to avoid them," my uncle replies as he pushes past the boy. Jason gives me a weird look as I follow my uncle through the doorway. I frown slightly to myself. Wait… Seven years ago?

* * *

WHOOOO JASON!

What role do you think Jason will play? Why is this seven years so significant?

Until next time ;)


	6. Chapter 6

Hi guys! Here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I own only the plot line and my OCs!

* * *

Seriously, my week could not get any worse. Deaths. Check. Hospitals. Check. Borderline Personality Disorder. Check. Anger. Check. Boring family meetings? In process. No one has made any attempt to talk. We all just stare at each other, waiting for someone to make a move. This Jason kid sits awkwardly to the side studying us, as if he knows us from somewhere. Thalia glares at him right back. I choose to ignore his stares at shut my eyes. If nothing is going to get accomplished during this, I can at least catch up on some sleep.

"So…" Percy causes my eyes to snap open. "What exactly are we going to be doing during this meeting?" he asks.

"Discussing," my father states.

"Wow, how descriptive," I roll my eyes at him.

"Yeah, at least give us some direction." Percy nods. "Seven years. You left us for seven years and you don't even have anything to say to us?"

"It's complicated," Percy's dad replies.

"Yeah, so complicated that you can't figure out how to talk to your own son," Percy snaps.

"That's no way to speak to your father," my uncle Zeus fights back.

"I don't consider him a father," Percy narrows his eyes at his dad. "He was never there."

"It was for your own good. We wouldn't have been around anyway. We were always traveling for business." My uncle Poseidon replies.

"But you could have at least kept us! You could've left us with a babysitter or whatever," I cross my arms.

"No, Nico." Thalia interrupts. "It's better that they left us."

"What?" I gape at her. She's supposed to be on my side. What the hell is she doing? "Why?"

"Because, if they stayed with us, we'd have to live our whole entire lives in suffering."

"We had to suffer a lot, Thalia." I remind her. "We were practically starving!"

"Don't you think we'd have to suffer more if they were around?" she demands as she stands up from the table. "They would have ignored us, neglected us. What's worse than living with parents that pay no attention to you and couldn't care less about you? Nico, they didn't even bother to show up to Bianca's funeral. Imagine what they would've done if we were actually living with them." She then regards our fathers by screaming at them. "I want the truth. I'll do anything for it. Why would you leave us? Why do you guys not even care enough to go to your own daughter or niece's funeral? It's all your fault she died anyway!"

No one dares to talk back to her. I look up at her in admiration, but our fathers just look to the ground, probably knowing that they're wrong. Actually, I bet they don't even think they did anything wrong. People can never admit their own mistakes. It's one of the major problems in society these days.

Angrily, she storms away. To where, I really don't know. We just got to this house and she's already acting like she owns the place.

"If I've ever learned one thing without you guys around," Percy says as he stands up. "It's to never mess with a girl's emotions… Especially when that girl is Thalia." He storms out of the room in the same direction as Thalia.

All eyes turn to look at me, as if they expect me to leave too. "Oh, one thing I learned when you guys weren't around is never to follow the crowd and to be my own person. I think you guys need a lesson on that because you always seem to make the same decisions." I smile fakely at them. "And hey! If I'm not busy, I can totally teach you guys it. Oh, wait, I don't care enough to."

"Seriously, you are like, the master of sass," the Jason kids speaks up. "I like it."

"JASON!" my uncle Zeus scolds. "Do not encourage him."

"Oh, trust me, Uncle Z, I don't need encouragement," I inform him. "I have enough confidence already."

"A little too much, actually." He mumbles.

"What's that, Uncle Z?" I give a generally confused look on my face. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over my alleged ego."

"You've got some nerve kid…"

"Some? Well, that needs to change…"

"Nico." My father glares at me. "That's enough."

"So it's okay for your brother to harass me, but when I defend myself, I get in trouble for it?" I raise an eyebrow at my dad. "Well, that's not very fair. And a wise man always told me to play fair…" I lean across the table so I'm face to face with him. "And you're that wise man."

I get up from the table and walk over to the way both of my cousins disappeared to. "Oh, and thanks for letting us stay the night here. I'm sure you have plenty of empty rooms for us to occupy. We'll try not to spread any diseases from the street in here. It would be _such _a shame…"

"Who gave you the permission to stay here?" my uncle Zeus narrows his sky blue eyes at me.

"Well, you guys invited us over. It's only polite to allow us to spend the night," I answer. "Now, see you guys in the morning. I'll be expecting a full buffet of breakfast… In my bed."

I walk away from that room, leaving my family flabbergasted. But honestly, I don't even care what they think of me. I never care what anyone thinks of me. If they want to judge me, let them. I'm not going to stop them. It's only human.

I find my way across the huge house until I finally reach a room with a grand piano. Percy and Thalia are sitting on the piano bench playing random keys. "Children," I say ironically, because I'm younger than them, "I hope you like it here because we're spending the night."

"What? They're actually allowing that?" Thalia raises an eyebrow at me.

"Yeah," I smirk slightly. "You can say that…"

* * *

Let me just say that this is probably one of my favorite chapters to write. I LOVE sassy Nico. I think it's hilarious. Tell me if you agree in a review!


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi guys! SOrry I haven't updated in forever. I lost internet connection at my house (It legit sucked) but I am back with a new chapter!**

**It's kinda sad, but I promise the next one will be happy! IT WILL EVEN HAVE SOME PERCABETH! hopefully... And that should be published within the next week... hopefully...**

**So I hope you all forgive me and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

* * *

Chapter 7:

Thalia:

"Thalia?"

I look down at him from the piano bench in the room. He's awkwardly sitting on the floor, by one of the piano legs. "Yes, Percy?"

"Why do our father's hate us so much?" he questions me.

"They just do, I guess." I answer. "Apparently, we've lost some sort of innocence that we used to have. And that's probably why they got rid of us."

"Falsehood," Nico says as he stands up from his seat next to my other cousin. "They just take their anger out that our moms died on us. And they got rid of us in hope to forget about those bad memories. But we're back, and that's why they're mad. It has nothing to do with innocence, Thalia."

"I still think it does," I reason. "We lost that childhood innocence when we started acting up after our moms died. We stole stuff, he threw temper-tantrums, we cursed them off… We were young, seven, eight, and nine to be exact, we lost that childhood innocence. And they knew that once we lost that, we'd be untamable. That's why they got rid of us."

"Suit yourself," Nico replies. "Percy, you can decide who to believe."

"Our lives suck," Percy frowns.

"They always have, they always will," Nico sighs. "We just have to get used to it, I guess."

"But why?" I demand as I stand up from the piano bench. "We're at war with our fathers. Why do we have to live like this? Why can't we find peace? Why can't we restore that innocence that was lost and become a whole? Like a family again?"

"Because we all know that won't happen." Nico brings us back into reality. "They're horrible men. They've never been good to us, even when we were kids. They'd smile at us, but they never taught us anything. Even though we were living with them, they weren't there. When we needed something, we'd go to our moms. Yeah, they were part our parents, but they didn't do anything, ever. So they were never part of our family. How can we 'restore' our family if we never even had one?"

"We've had a family. We still do." Percy says. "You, me, and Thalia. And Bianca, of course. But she's not really around anymore so… Yeah. That's our family."

"I just wish our moms' were still alive," Nico complains.

"Stop," I order them. "Stop whining about our lives, Nico. Yeah, we're in a terrible situation, but complaining won't make anything better. Nothing can make things better, alright? I hate to break it to you, but that's just how things are going to be. But, we can at least try and fix things."

"And how would we do that?" Percy asks me.

"Well, we need to prove to our father's how good of a band we are," I smile. "Then they'll realize that they should send us on tour. And when we're on tour, we won't even have to worry about anything like this!"

"So this whole fixing thing isn't permanent," Nico infers.

"Why do you say that?" I frown.

"Tours end," he reminds me. "What will become of us when our tour, that may or may not be happening, ends? We're not even really signed in their record deal yet. That mall gig was just an opportunity to see if we could get a fan base. And we did. But we've upset them. We all have. Thalia wasn't supposed to sing… I made an unexpected visit to the hospital… And Percy's no longer that good boy that they all remember him as. What I'm trying to say is, you're 'perfect' plan to fix things won't work."

"Then do you suppose you have any better ideas?" I challenge him.

"No…"

"Then stop criticizing me!" I order. "I've done nothing but try and help us through this time in our lives. You make it seem like I've done nothing for you throughout our lives. I kept this family going, even when we were broke living out on the streets! I avoided orphanages for us because I knew we would make it. I knew that one day, our troubled past would be behind us. And you've done nothing but bring down the mood all these years, Nico! Stop being so pessimistic and try to think on the bright side for one!"

"I'm sorry I'm not perfect enough for you, Thalia," Nico says before storming out to the door. He then looks back. "I'm sorry my brain is I'm messed up and causes me to act this way. I'm sorry that I'm moody, and impulsive, and paranoid and that I have a hard time in relationships with people. I'm sorry that I have borderline personality disorder and that caused you all these troubles in your life. But honestly, you make it seem like I wanted this to happen. Like I wanted our lives to be a living hell. I'm sorry, but I am who I am, and I'm going to act however I act. That's just me. And since you clearly can't deal with me, I'm just going to leave. I'm done with our dads'. I'm done with this record deal. I'm done with you and Percy always freaking out at me. I'm just done, alright?" he storms out the door and I glance at Percy.

"This is not good," he tells me as we both run after him. We followed him out the door, but in the blink of an eye Nico was gone.

"Crap! This is not happening!" I shout as I begin pacing the front porch of my father's house. The tears begin to fall from my eyes. Like the rain falling from the dark cloudy sky, the flow becomes more and more rapid as reality settles farther down on me.

My mind races. He has no idea where he is. He doesn't know where to go. He's only fourteen. He can get kidnapped… How could I let him just run away? I hate what just happened, and I hate myself even more for letting this happen.

I'm supposed to keep everything under control. That's what I swore to my mother when she died. She knew something was going to happen, and in her death bed, she warned me of this day. But I've failed her. And to make it even worse, I failed not just myself as well, but also Percy and Nico, the two I swore I'd look after.

Percy my thoughts from occurring by stopping me from pacing and holding me in place. "Thalia, you need to stop freaking out, okay?" he tries to calm me down. "We'll split up, alright? And we'll find him. You can go this way, and I'll go that way. I'll call Annabeth for help. But whatever you do, don't tell our dads."

For the first time in a while, I've actually had to listen to what other people say. Even when I'm supposed to be in control. It should've been _me_ telling _him _what to do. I'm older, and I've been taking care of him his whole entire life. But one thing I learned today is that I can't always put everything on myself. I have to let other people be in charge for once. I may not like it, but it needs to happen at some point.

I wipe the tears from my eyes and try to stop crying. However, it doesn't work. But I know that things need to be done, so I nod and run in the direction he told me too.

I guess sometimes things need to get worse before they get better.

* * *

**And by the way, I love and appreciate your reviews ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi guys! Thanks so much for the reviews. I actually love them and appreciate them!**

**This chapter is a lot happier at the end! Yay! Finally! I can't help sometimes writing sad things... It just happens sometimes. But it's going to probably just be happy from now on! **

**So enjoy this chapter and remember to tell me what you think!**

* * *

Chapter 8:

Ariella:

"How are you remaining calm in a time like this?"

"Calm? Ariella, I'm actually freaking out!"

"Well you're not acting like you are," I answer. "Annabeth, Nico di Angelo, THE Nico di Angelo, is sitting in the next room over and you don't even seem to care!"

"Of course I care… He just ran away from home!" Annabeth exclaims. "And Percy isn't answering his phone."

"Well, you know how boys are… If they know a girl likes them, they don't pick up their phones."

"First of all, I don't like Percy." Annabeth tries to assure me. "And second, how would he even know?"

"When someone likes you, you can tell. Trust me," I tell her. "And it's clear you and Percy like each other."

"Do you think he really does?" she asks me hopefully before stopping herself. "Wait, there's bigger issues right now. Like Nico. Go in there are try and get information out of him. I'm going to keep trying to call Percy."

"Okay!" I say feeling ecstatic as I skip into the room with Nico in it. He sits on a bed, facing the wall with a blank expression on his face.

"Why are you so happy in a time like this?" he asks me, his eyes not leaving that white wall.

"Well, unlike _some _people I know, I try and find the bright side in every situation," I answer.

"If that was supposed to be hinting something at me, we don't know each other, so next time, choose a different choice of words." He says. "And there is no bright side in my situation. Because there is no bright side in life."

"What about the sun?" I suggest. "That's bright, and it's part of life."

"What does the sun have to do with my family?" his dark brown eyes meet my bright blue ones.

"Well, it's a metaphor." I shrug. "You know how the sun always shines, even though the moon blocks it at night? In your case, the moon, or the bad stuff in your life, is just blocking the sun, or the good stuff. It may take time to uncover it, but it will still happen. Like the moon takes like, twelve hours to move so it no longer blocks the sun. But for you, it will take longer. But just because it takes longer doesn't mean things won't get better."

"And what makes you so sure things will get better?" he glares at me. "My whole life has just been getting worse since I was born."

"I've had personal experience." I answer. "I understand what you're going through."

"But you're not borderline," he says as he looks away. "You _don't _understand what I'm going through."

"Just because I don't have the same psychological disorder as you doesn't mean I don't know what you're going through," I fight.

"But borderline makes everything harder. It makes things harder to let go of."

"Well, even if it's harder, it doesn't mean you shouldn't try." I explain. "No matter what happens, you have to try and make things better. Nothing is going to get better if you run away from your problems, Nico."

He glares at me. He's so cute when he's angry! "Please, just leave me alone. This isn't you're business." He says as he turns around so he's no longer facing me.

"Fine," I say as I walk over to the door. "I tried. You should at least thank me."

"How can I thank you? You just don't understand."

"You think I don't understand?" I raise my eyebrow at him as I turn back around, anger starting to build up inside of me. "Nico, you're not the only one with problems. Just because people don't openly admit their problems like you do doesn't mean they're not there. So stop complaining and expecting people to feel bad for you. You need to get over your problems and get over yourself. Maybe that way, more people would like you. And if more people liked you, you wouldn't have so many problems."

"Stop talking to me as if I am a child," he says. "I'm fourteen. But actually, just stop talking to me in general. I don't care what you have to say, Arizona. Want to know why? Because it's always insulting. For someone who was obsessing over me just ten minutes ago, you change your opinion of me quite quickly."

"My name is Ariella, by the way, not Arizona." I correct him. "And the reason why my opinion changed on you is because I didn't really know you ten minutes ago. I thought you were a sensitive guy, but apparently, you're a douche bag."

"Well at least I'm not full of myself, like you clearly are. You go around calling _me _a douche bag? Have you even listened to yourself talk? You don't know what goes on in my head, alright? I'm freaking borderline. Want to know what that means? It means I have a chemical imbalance in my head which causes me to act and think in different ways. **(Okay, so I think that is accurate. I'm not sure if I messed that up with Bipolar disorder though. So if I did, please don't freak out at me! It was a mistake!) **So stop thinking you understand me. Because you don't. You never will. I will never open up to you, like you just assumed I would." He snaps before muttering. "I don't even know why I decided to come here in the first place."

Annabeth runs into the room almost immediately after he said that, with both Percy and Thalia behind her. "Nico…" Percy says as he runs over to his cousin. "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be…?" he asks Percy, clearly confused.

"Well, you ran away… In Manhattan. You're fourteen. Bad things could've happened!" Thalia exclaims.

"It's not like any of you care anyways. The only person I can trust these days is Annabeth."

"I'm flattered Nico, but Thalia and Percy _do_ care about you." She informs him. "They wouldn't come all the way here if they didn't."

"Then why would they treat me the way they did?" he demands as he stands up to face all of us. "I would expect that from her," he says as he points to me and I can't help but be insulted, "but not from my family who promised they'd stick with me through whatever. They betrayed me."

"Nico, we didn't mean to," Thalia assures him. "It was a mistake, and we're really sorry about it."

"Yeah, honestly Nico," Percy says, "as soon as you left, we felt terrible. So we ran around for hours trying to find you. And then Annabeth called me and told me you were here, safely and we were so relieved that we sprinted here all the way from our dads' house."

"Fine, I guess I have to forgive you," Nico smiles slightly. "I mean, what other family do I have that will actually care for me?"

"Your father now does," Thalia grins. "He texted me, saying that he tried to text you but you didn't answer, and he wanted to tell you that we're getting signed to their record deal! And tomorrow, we get to go to an _actual _recording studio to record a song! And then the day after that, we get to go on a real talk show!"

"That's great, Thalia." He says as he smiles fully. "I wonder what made them change their minds."

"I think it was that Jason kid," Percy admits. "I have this gut feeling about it. That kid, he seems nice."

"Maybe." Thalia shrugs. "But let's go out and celebrate!"

"Can we do that tomorrow instead?" Nico asks them. "I kind of just want to go back to our dads' house and chillax."

"Sure," Percy says. "Annabeth, Ariella, you guys coming?"

"Maybe tomorrow," Annabeth replies. "We'll let you guys settle in first."

"Okay," Percy nods as he, Thalia and Annabeth leave the room. Nico follows them, but stops where I'm standing.

"This whole thing between us isn't over, you know." He tells me.

"Trust me, I'm prepared for whatever you bring." I fight back.

He smirks. "I like you. You're different." Then he exits the room, leaving me standing there with a warm glow spreading in my body. Starting in my heart, it makes it way to all the other parts of me, tingling as it goes. I know this feeling, and I know I like him again.

* * *

**Please review!**

**And by the way, do you guys like the Nico / Ariella pairing?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi kids! Sorry again for taking so long to update. I've been on vacation so, there's one of my many excuses.**

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter because it's finally PERCABETH! WHOOO!**

**The song used in this chapter is called Bleed by the band Hot Chelle Rae. I DO NOT OWN THE SONG! IT IS AMAZING THOUGH SO YOU BETTER LISTEN TO IT!**

**Okay, so I hope you like this:**

* * *

Chapter 9:

Percy:

I was falling.

Falling down the edge of a waterfall and plummeting to my death.

I could feel the mist from the water at over twenty feet above the surface and it dampened me and caused a fog that blocked out my vision.

Now I knew I was falling, but I didn't know how soon.

I tried to brace myself for the hit against that cold surface when I heard someone called my name. Now dying and someone trying to talk to me? I'm definitely either going insane.

"Percy," they shout a little bit louder. Something comes in contact with me, and I realize it isn't the water. I open my eyes and realize it was a pillow. "Percy, you alright?"

I look up to see my cousin Thalia hovering above me, another pillow in hand. "Oh, hey cuz." I say. "I'm fine. I just had a weird dream."

"What happened?" she asks me.

"I was about to drown," I admit.

"That's weird," she says. "You love swimming!"

"I know," I reply. "I'm like, really nervous now. To go anywhere near water. What if there's some sort of like, hidden message or something?"

"Of course there's a hidden message in it," Nico says as he enters the room. "Haven't you ever heard of dream analyzing?"

"Yeah, but I don't think any of that is true. Like babies allegedly mean like, celebration or hope or something like that. I just don't get it, you know?" I answer.

"Tell me your dream." Nico orders as he sits on the foot of my bed. "I bet I can analyze it."

"So I was falling… down a waterfall. And I was about to drown when Thalia woke me up." I tell him. "And anyway, why _did_ you wake me up Thalia?"

"We have to go record today," she reminds me. "Get out of bed and get dressed."  
"But Nico didn't analyze my dream yet!"

"Do you really think it's going to be accurate?" Thalia gives me a look. "Sorry, Nico. But it's kind of true."

"Wait," he stops us. After a few seconds, he continues, "I got it. I figured out your dream. So, you love to the water, right? You swim all the time. You're familiar with it and you're used to it. So now, in the dream, you were scared of water because you were falling right? You thought you would drown. So…"

"What are you getting at?" I ask him impatiently.

"You're scared to do something because you're afraid of falling and getting hurt… Or dying," he answers.

"Yeah, anyone could have figured that out." Thalia rolls her eyes.

"But I bet they wouldn't guess what Percy's afraid of," Nico smirks.

"What?" I sit up so I can look him in the eyes. "What am I afraid of?" I beg. "I NEED TO KNOW!"

"Calm down, Percy." Thalia orders. "And get ready! Seriously, we need to get going."

"After Nico tells me what I'm afraid of," I assure her. "So Nico, what is it?"

He smirks at me. "You're afraid to fall in love."

"That is so not true," I roll my eyes at him. "Thalia was right. You're just making things up!"

"Uh, Nico?" Thalia says. "How does that make sense, though? I mean, how can you automatically assume that?"

"Well," Nico starts. "I think it's quite clear and apparent that Percy likes Annabeth, am I right?"

"Yes," Thalia nods.

"And since he's familiar with Annabeth, they're best friends, he's scared of falling in love with her, or dating her. He's scared it will ruin their friendship."

"Guys, why are you so into me liking Annabeth? You know it's not even true," I tell him.

"Percy," Nico rests a hand on my shoulder. "You're not fooling anyone. It's really obvious you like Annabeth."

"Yeah," Thalia agrees. "You seriously need to tell her how you feel. I think she likes you too."

"Okay, you got me. But I can't do that!" I exclaim. "It will totally ruin our friendship!"

"I was so right," Nico smiles to himself.

Thalia and I ignore him.

"It will not! Don't you want a girlfriend?" she asks.

"Not my best friend!" I assure her. "Just someone as pretty and nice as her."

"See?" Thalia says. "I can totally make this work. I am SUCH a match maker!"

"Do I seriously not get any credit for this?" Nico frowns. "I realized this!"

We ignore him once again.

"Please, Thalia. I can do this myself, okay?" I say. "I'm not a child anymore. I'm fifteen. I can handle my own relationships."

"Fine," she sighs as she walks over to the door of my bedroom. "But get ready. We're leaving in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?" I gasp. "That's barely enough time for me to take a shower!"

"Well you better shower quickly then," she shrugs as she exits. Nico follows her lead and leaves me in my new room at our dad's mansion alone.

* * *

We arrived at the recording studio about twenty minutes ago, after a slight detour of picking up Annabeth and her friend Ariella, who is still staying with her. It wasn't my decision to get them; It was Thalia's. I'm pretty sure she's trying to get me to step up and say something to Annabeth. Like I'd ever do that with her around… Or anyone, really. At the rate this is going, I'm not sure I'll EVER tell her how I feel.

But back to the studio, it stands only two stories high, with tons of recording rooms for people to use. However, the lady at the front desk assigned us one room, for the three of us, which is already occupied. Apparently, today is a very busy day for singers, bands, or aspiring artists like us.

"Seriously," Thalia says as she gets up from sitting on the floor like the rest of us. "Who does this person think they are? They're taking FOREVER in there! I mean, do they not realize other people want to record music too?"

"Uh, Thalia," I say. "Just calm down, alright? I'm sure whoever they are will be out pretty soon."

"I doubt it," she mutters, but she sits back down against the wall. Maybe another ten minutes passes, with none of us talking. I'm not sure of the exact time because of my ADHD, but it seemed to be that long. And I can tell Thalia was getting irritated again.

"I'm going to go say something," Nico decides. "I know I sound impatient, but I have to agree with Thalia on this. This is actually ridiculous. It's been forty minutes."

"Just don't be rude," I advise him.

"When am I not rude?" he asks me as he barges into the room. Although the door is slightly closed, I can hear him at a normal and loud volume. "Who do you think you are? My band and I have been waiting outside this room for over three hours! And you have the nerve to stay here all day like you own the place!"

"Hey, I'm really sorry," another boy's voice says. "I've been recording this new song and kind of lost track of time. You and your band can have the room now. I can just come back later. I, uh, kind of own this place."

"Then I don't see why you're hogging it now when you can be using it at any other point," Nico says, clearly annoyed.

"Hey man, I'm sorry." He apologizes again, before walking out of the room with a guitar in one hand and seeing all of us sitting down on the floor, our backs pressed up against the walls.

"Oh my gosh," Thalia exclaims. "You're THE Leo Valdez!"

"And you're some aspiring singer?" he guesses.

"Not really aspiring," she says nervously. "I'm in a band with my cousins and we have a record deal already. We just have to record some songs."

"Oh, then I'm sorry I made you wait. I didn't know. Honestly!"

"It's fine," I but into their conversation and Thalia glares at me.

"That's just how my cousin Nico is," she covers. "He gets angry a lot."

"You know I can hear you," he reminds her, but she's a little bit busy with this Leo kid.

"Oh, well, next time, just come right in. I'll give you guys my room. My grandparents own this place. So I can come here any time," Leo tells us.

"Okay," Thalia smiles.

"Well, I should probably leave you guys to recording," he says awkwardly to us. "But if you ever need someone to hang out with, you know who to find," he winks at us. "I'd love to know more about you guys."

"You can stay," Thalia offers. "You can totally help us with our music!"

"Nah," Nico replies. "He can leave."

"Well I guess I better get going then," Leo says before walking away.

"Nico…" Thalia growls.

"Aw," Nico smiles. "You're mad I ruined your little love fest."

"Yes," Thalia exclaims. "Guys, he's super famous. And really hot… The least you could do is show him a little bit of respect!"

"I'll show him some respect when he learns to respect our band," Nico replies. "He was totally hogging this studio!"

"He was so nice about it though," I admit.

"Let's just stop fighting and get to recording, alright?" Thalia suggests.

"Sure," I say. Our group walks into the studio and is instantly amazed. Well, at least I am.

Real machines are in here that edit voices. A water cooler, some chairs, amps, basses, guitars, drums, and microphones are all available for us to use.

"So, guys," I announce. "Let's get writing!" We all take our pens and paper out and begin to write. However, I leave my paper blank. Maybe I'm on writers block or something, but nothing seems to be coming to my mind. I take a black marker from the bottom of Thalia's bag and write three simple words on it. Then I crumple up the sheet of paper and hold it in my hands.

"Uh, guys?" I say. "I think I've got something."

"Already?" Nico gives me a weird look.

"Don't judge him," Annabeth smiles at me. "Maybe it's really good."

"Or complete crap." Nico mutters.

"Well, I think it's pretty good." I answer. I step into the separate room attached where you actually record and grab one of the accustic guitars. Record this, okay?"

"Sure," Nico replies.

"Annabeth," I say nervously before I start singing and playing. "This song is for you."

I feel like I'm drowning in ice water

My lips have turned a shade of blue

I'm frozen with this fear

That you may disappear

Before I've given you the truth

I bleed my heart out on this paper for you

So you can see what I can't say

I'm dying here (I'm dying here)

'Cause I can't say what I want to

I bleed my heart out just for you

I've always dreamed about this moment

And now it's here and I've turned to stone

I stand here petrified

As I look you in your eyes

My head is ready to explode

I bleed my heart out on this paper for you

So you can see what I can't say

I'm dying here

'Cause I can't say what I want to

I bleed my heart out just for you

And it's all here in

Black and white and red

For all the times

Those words were never said

I bleed my heart out on this paper for you

So you can see what I can't say

I'm dying here

'Cause I can't say what I want to

I bleed my heart out just for you

I bleed my heart out just for you.

Nico stops recording it and I exit that little room, feeling all eyes on me. "Wow, Percy, even I'm surprised. That was really good," Nico compliments.

But I ignore him. I walk past him, and Ariella, and even Thalia. I walk straight up to Annabeth and smoothen the crumbled piece of paper so that she can see what it says. In my horrible mess of handwriting it says the words: I LOVE YOU.

* * *

**Thoughts? Opinions? Suggestions? Predictions?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Guys, I can't even express in words how sorry I am for not updating in like, a month. I was on writer's block and couldn't think of anything at all to write! But I finally got something! I hope it's to your liking! ;)**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the character of Ariella. The song used in this chapter "We Are Broken" belongs to the band Paramore. **

* * *

Chapter 10:

Nico:

Leave it to my cousin Percy to make every situation awkward. I mean, seriously, he really does. Yeah, I influenced him to tell Annabeth how he feels, but that doesn't mean he should do it when there are other people in the room, or even do it in general. He should know by now never to do anything I tell him to do because he always messes it up and makes a fool of himself.

So here I am, sitting in the recording studio, bored-ly watching to see how Annabeth reacts to Percy's love song. It's grotesque, actually. I don't think you should have to write your feelings down, or sing them in a song to someone. They should just know. Or you should just gain the courage and tell them straight up. Seriously, it's _so _much easier.

Annabeth smiles widely at my cousin before engulfing him in a huge hug. "So I guess this means you feel the same or...?" Percy awkwardly laughs.

"Of course I do, Percy." She tells him. "I've been waiting so long to hear that."

"So I take it you'd like to go out with me later?" Percy tries. "Like on a date?"

"That sounds great," Annabeth says as she pulls away from him in the hug.

"Although that moment was _oh so touching_," I state sarcastically, "we seriously need to start recording other songs. Thalia still needs one and so I do I. Upbeat ones, may I add. If we're going to make it on the radio by tomorrow, we need to get to work. And then tomorrow night we have a talk show interview. So yeah. We're busy. And it would help if we didn't have any distractions." I stare directly at Annabeth and Ariella, who don't seem to notice.

"Way to ruin the moment, Nico." Thalia glares at me. "Do you not realize how long I've been waiting for that?"

"As long as you've been waiting to finally have a family or fame?" I challenge.

"Well, I've been waiting ever since we met Annabeth five years ago…"

"I'm sure," I sneer.

"But I actually have," she assures me.

I choose to ignore her. Fighting with her will only waste time. And time is something that we can't afford to lose right now because of our deadline. "Can we just get back to song writing?" I suggest.

"But I already wrote my song," Percy reminds us.

"Really? I didn't realize."

"Oh," Percy crinkles his eyebrows in confusion. "Well I just sang a song to Annabeth. Do you not remember that or something?"

"Ignore him, Percy." Thalia rolls her eyes at me. "He's being rude."

"Am not!" I defend.

"You barged in on that Leo kid," Ariella recalls.

"Don't pretend like you didn't want to," I glare at her. "And stay out of this! This argument doesn't involve you!"

"Sorry," she crosses her arms at me.

"Oh my gods, Nico." Thalia frowns. "I forgot about that! You probably ruined my chances of ever being with Leo!"

"You don't want to be with him. Trust me. He's selfish, inconsiderate, and rude." I tell her. "I could tell all those things just by talking to him."

"But he was really nice about it," Percy says.

I give him a weird look. "No he wasn't. He got really mad and said he'd complain about us to his grandparents who own this place."

"No he didn't," Thalia widens her eyes at me. "That's not even close to what happened."

I turn to the other two girls in the room. "You guys say that, right?"

"No," Annabeth frowns at me.

"You're delusional," Ariella tells me.

"No. All of you were clearly hallucinating," I state.

"Alright Nico," Thalia nods at me. "_We _were the ones hallucinating the same thing. It wasn't you at all."

I sigh. "Let's just go back to writing and recording, alright?"

* * *

With Percy out with Annabeth, and Thalia still at the recording studio trying to find (or stalk) that Leo boy, I'm forced hanging out with Ariella. Yay me.

Honestly, I don't see why she's here. Or why she doesn't go back to Annabeth's house, or even her own. I have no idea why she's even living with Annabeth for this short period of time. I'd rather her leave. She's increasingly irritating and makes me want to rip my hair out. That isn't normal.

"So," she says as we sit in the kitchen of my dad and uncles' house. "How's life?"

"Horrible."

"Want to elaborate?" she asks, in course of conversation.

"My sister died, both my cousins ditched me, I'm at my dad's house and he hates me, but worst of all, I'm stuck here alone with you." I smile fakely at her.

"You make it seem like I actually want to be here," she replies. "Because I don't."

"Why are you even living with Annabeth to begin with? Why don't you just go home to wherever you're from?" I demand.

"I'm from New Jersey," she informs me. "And it's none of your business why I'm at Annabeth's house."

"Yeah, it kinda is." I say. "Because you're going to be forced to hang out with me."

"I'm not telling you," she crosses her arms at me.

"Like I care."

"You asked," she reminds me.

"I was trying to be polite," I lie.

"It didn't sound it," she responds.

"That's because I don't care," I reply. She doesn't answer and I just remain seated next to her, staring at her in hope to make her uncomfortable. Her wavy brown hair is pulled into a high ponytail, but it appears shorter because it only goes down to her upper-back instead of the middle of her back.

"Why are you staring at me?" her green eyes meet my dark ones.

"I wasn't," I lie. "I was looking at that painting over there." I point to a picture slightly behind her.

"Good," she says right as my uncle walks into the room.

"Uncle Z!" I exclaim. "I've been meaning to talk to you about something!"

"What is it?" he sighs.

"It's Thalia." I respond. "She's been acting kind of weird lately, and I think it's because she's confused."

"How's she been acting weird?" he asks me. "And what's she confused about?"

"The song she wrote today…" I tell him. "Here, I recorded it on my phone." I take out my black iPhone and play him Thalia's song that I recorded when we were in the studio. After a few seconds of depressing sounding music, she begins to sing, in a not much brighter way.

**"We Are Broken"**

**(This song is originally by the band Paramore, but in this story, it's written by Thalia. ALL RIGHTS GO TO PARAMORE AND THEIR AMAZINGNESS.)**

_I am outside_

_And I've been waiting for the sun_

_With my wide eyes_

_I've seen worlds that don't belong_

_My mouth is dry with words I cannot verbalize_

_Tell me why we live like this_

_Keep me safe inside_

_Your arms like towers_

_Tower over me_

_Yeah_

_'Cause we are broken_

_What must we do to restore_

_Our innocence_

_And oh, the promise we adored_

_Give us life again_

_'Cause we just wanna be whole_

_Lock the doors_

_Cause I'd like to capture this voice_

_That came to me tonight_

_So everyone will have a choice_

_And under red lights_

_I'll show myself it wasn't forged_

_We're at war_

_We live like this_

_Keep me safe inside_

_Your arms like towers_

_Tower over me_

_'Cause we are broken_

_What must we do to restore_

_Our innocence_

_And oh, the promise we adored_

_Give us life again_

_'Cause we just wanna be whole_

_Tower over me_

_Tower over me_

_And I'll take the truth at any cost_

_'Cause we are broken_

_What must we do to restore_

_Our innocence_

_And oh, the promise we adored_

_Give us life again_

_'Cause we just wanna be whole_

"What's wrong with that?" my uncle frowns.

"It just doesn't seem her." I answer. "I just don't think she's comfortable living here because of all that you guys have done to us in the past. I think she just wants answers. Or a reason why all this happened."

"But what's she confused about?"

"Jason." I say instantly. "I'm sure of it. Even though she's never said any of this to me, I can feel it. She's constantly thinking about it. She's confused why you separated them and why you never really let them interact. Uncle Z, you need to talk to her. And him. You three need to have a family chat or something."

"I don't think a family meeting will do very much," he reminds me. "The last time we had one didn't exactly end well…"

"Well, that was a family _meeting. _This is a family chat, or explanation. You three just need to start communicating or something because I'm scared for Thalia. This isn't normal for her. Please, Uncle Zeus. Will you talk to her?"

"I suppose so," he agrees.

"Good," I say as he exits the room. I guess he forgot the main purpose why he entered after I ranted to him about Thalia.

"That was really nice of you to do, by the way." Ariella says to me.

I give her a weird look. "What do you mean?"

"You made sure that he's going to talk to her so she won't be confused anymore."

"It was nothing," I respond. "I'd do it for anyone, even you."

She blushes. "I don't know whether to be insulted or complimented."

"Well it sounded like a compliment in my head but more like an insult out loud," I crack a smile.

"So it was intended to be nice?" Ariella asks.

"Technically, but…" I try and cover it up but she cuts me off.

"Maybe you do have a nice and caring side to you, Nico."

"Trust me, I really don't." I tell her.

She laughs. "Yeah, we'll see about that."

* * *

**Thoughts?**


End file.
